Anna Ramone: Ace Attorney
by eliatropesonmobius
Summary: Freshly graduated from law school and already in too deep. That describes Anna Ramone to a T. All that's left is to dig deeper.
1. Chapter 1

**_So...It's been awhile. It's nice to be back, readers and writers alike. I'm glad to be here._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Phoenix Wright or anything associated with it, only my characters._**

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Chapter 1:

Sunday, 12:15 pm.

The sun shines brightly, but thankfully for me, the cafe table umbrella blocks the harsh rays from hitting me. I drink a Diet Coke, wishing it wasn't so hot, but the weather gives me an excuse to go to the beach later. My name is Anna Ramone, and though I may look like your average 27 year old, I actually just got my degree in law today. While my family has plans to take me out to a celebratory dinner tonight, I just want to relax and be thankful that I am completely and totally done with any and all classes. The only thing I need to do next is either join a law firm, hopefully a non-corrupt one, or just represent a client right away.

"You can't do this to me!" I hear a voice yell and look up to see a burly man escorting a young woman out of the inside of the cafe forcibly. "I'll sue! I'll get a lawyer!"

"You're too poor to afford one, sugarlips." The man huffs, an amused smirk playing at his mouth as he pushes the girl away from him.

"Excuse me." I interrupt, folding my napkin and placing it next to my empty Coke can before getting up and walking over to where the woman had fallen to the ground after the man pushed her. Helping her to her feet, I turn and glare at the man, looking like a pissed-off homeless person in my ratty hoodie and frizzy ponytail. "Would you care to tell me why you're physically assaulting a young girl in a public space?"

"None a' your business, hobo. Step off before I make you."

"Is that a death threat?" I ask passively, pausing to adjust my glasses and push the woman behind me, where she curls a hand into the material of my hoodie.

"You know what?" The man walks forward suddenly, getting in my face and baring his teeth at me. His breath is hot, smells like Italian food and makes me want to gag. "Yeah. Now get outta my way."

"'Fraid not. I'm representing my client as she sues you for physical assault and verbal threats. I also have a feeling we'll be tacking a few more charges on there as well." I smile coldly and my glasses flash in the sunlight before reaching behind me and grabbing the woman's arm. In the small crowd that gathered, I see a man in a blue suit with spiky black hair and a gold pin watching me from the depths of the crowd. My eyes meet his and he lifts an eyebrow as I shoot him a friendly smile before the woman and I disappear down a street.

A little while later, we head into a Doughnut Stop and I purchase the woman a cup of coffee and a chocolate doughnut while I get a chocolate milk and chocolate glazed one. We sit at a table with our orders and her hands shake as she sips her coffee.

"Th-thank you." She murmurs, so quietly I don't know if she really said it.

"Nonsense." I wave a hand and stuff half my doughnut into my mouth and she giggles quietly as I swallow it. "He was being an ass, so naturally I had to stop him. The question is, can you hold up in court?"

"Wait…" The woman's smile dies slowly and she looks nervous again. "You were serious about that?"

"Of course! You're my first official client! I passed my bar test last week, so I am a fully-certified defender and prosecutor! I'll file a report with the police and the earliest we can get this case into the courts as early as the end of the month!" I grin and she sighs.

"I don't want to take it to court, Miss…"

"Anna Ramone. Why not, miss…?"

"Chris Jewell. I used to work for Antonio, the man. He fired me after... I threatened to report him for attempted sexual assault." She gulps and wrings her hands together nervously. Sighing, I reach out and grip one of her hands with one of mine.

"Listen, Chris." She gulps quietly, probably fighting back tears, and looks at me. I smile reassuringly and pull back my blonde bangs so that she can see the rough, jagged scar running underneath. "When I was in school, elementary school, just to inform you, I suffered from a hit-and-run. They never caught the driver, but his erratic driving on a security camera tells us that he was either extremely drunk or higher than a kite. But he got away scot-free and I got issues. I have memory problems, and this results in a lot of problems for me. GPS on my phone is always turned on in case I forget where I am. I have scheduled hourly calls from my family, who call the authorities immediately if I don't pick up. In a court of law, I'll be allowed to ask the transcriptor to read back the proceedings at any time. I'll probably also have to be reminded what the case is actually about…" I muse quietly and look up to see Chris looking worried. "What's wrong? Do you not want me to represent you or something?"

"It's not that!" Chris protests, shaking her head fiercely. "I'd be honored for you to represent me. It's just...How do you function everyday? Doesn't it get hard some days?"

"Life is occasionally hard for everyone, Chris." Shrugging, I slowly chew on the rest of my doughnut. "Sure, sometimes the going gets tough, but that's when the tough get going!" I point my thumb at myself with a reassuring smile. "And I happen to think that I'm pretty darn tough."

"Okay." Chris grins timidly and I ruffle her hair as we both stand to throw away our trash and leave. "Where do you live? I'm not sure I want to go home tonight."

"Well, first we have to go to the police department and file a complaint, then I need to buy some groceries. Are you willing to run a few errands with me?"

"As long as we don't have to walk." Chris jokes lightly and I smile.

"Oh, I think you'll like what I have." We walk outside and I pull a set of keys and click a button on one of them. A beep comes from a cherry-red Mercedes parked down the street and Chris turns to me with star-struck eyes as I grin and nod. We hop into my car and she runs her hand over the black leather she currently sits on.

"How'd you afford this?"

"Gift from the family. It actually used to belong to my dad." I rev the engine, but still drive responsibly to the front of the police station, parking on the side of the road and hopping out. The old lady who's been a receptionist since I was a child smiles when I come in.

"Hello, Anna. Lost again?" I stick my tongue out at her and she chuckles before coming out from behind her desk to give me a hug.

"Not at all, Νανα Helen. How are you today?" Helen Nikolaidis was an immigrant from Greece I met as a young girl when she moved in next door. After my accident, while my parents were at work, she and I would spend days quizzing each other about American facts. I did it to help her get her green card and continue living next to me, but she did it so that my memory would get better. At first, I had to wear a name tag just so I could remember my own name, but now that's the one thing I never forget.

"I'm good, sweetheart. Your parents were telling me you finally passed the bar test! We're all just so proud of you!" She pinches my cheek with a warm smile and Chris stifles her giggles behind her fist.

"How are the cops, Helen?"

"Good, dear, but why are you asking?" I sigh and take my hoodie off, tying it around my waist and re-doing my ponytail so it looks a little less frizzy.

"My friend and I are here to file a report against a man by the name of Antonio...I never got a last name. Chris?"

"Antonio Vila." She swallows nervously, probably because it's finally occurring to her that she'll actually be taking a man she knows personally down. "But we don't have to do this… Anna, maybe we should just go."

"No, Chris. You can't let this man hold you back. He deserves to pay for what he's done to you and if we take him to court, you'll actually be able to do something about what he did to you." I gently take her hand and grip it. She stares at me for a couple of seconds before exhaling shakily and nodding once.

"Okay. But can you do it for me? I don't know what I'm doing." We both turn to Helen, who motions for us to follow her. Together, we walk into a conference room, where Helen tells us she's going to go get a detective. I pull out my phone and check the time, nodding to myself before putting it away.

"What was that about?" Chris asks and I glance up before shrugging.

"We've got enough time to file the report before I need to run my errands. I'm renting an office to start my firm, which you're my first client at!" She grins nervously and I chuckle. "Don't worry, this is a fairly open and shut case."

The door opens to allow a portly middle-aged Caucasian man to enter. His brown combover clings to his head with sweat and he carries a brown clipboard and pen.

"Sorry about the wait." The officer sounds breathless and sits heavily in the chair across from us at the table in the center of the room. "I was working out in the gym. If I ever want to get back in the field, I'll have to lose some of this weight." The man slaps his belly and chuckles as Chris and I take our seats. Chris just smiles and I slip into my serious expression usually reserved for the court.

"I am here today representing Miss Chris Jewell and my name is Attorney Anna Ramone. My client and I are here to file a complaint about physical and sexual harassment from her employer. If we could please leave the pleasantries until after that has been taken care of?" The man looks a little surprised and nods slowly.

"Of course. I'm Officer Hughes. So who harassed your client?"

"We told this to Helen. He's a restaurant owner by the name of Antonio Vila. We'd like this to be cleared up as soon as possible, so if we could get this going."

"O-of course, ma'am. There's just a few forms your client can fill out, and if she could provide us with some hard evidence of said harassment, that would definitely strengthen her case." I nod and pull out a sticky note and two pens, handing one to Chris before uncapping the other and scribbling out an address on the sticky note before handing it to Officer Hughes.

"If you could access the traffic camera positioned across the street from this address, I'm sure you'll find a recording of the event itself. Have you finished filling those papers out yet?" Chris looks up when I address her and nods once, sharply, before handing me my pen back. I nod in thanks and put the two pens back in my purse before getting to my feet and motioning to her to do the same. "Now, in some cases, the city or state prosecutor would go up against the harasser in court, but I think I am fully within my legal parameters to take care of the prosecuting myself. And you may inform Mr Vila as soon as you take him into custody that we will be pressing charges. It was nice meeting you, but my client and I must be going now." We each shake Officer Hughes' hand, though he seems slightly wary about shaking mine, say farewell to Helen and leave the precinct, getting into my car and driving away.


	2. Chapter 2

_I'm back again! I have like four chapters of this story already typed out, so you can expect relatively quick updates. You have semester test season and my abundance of free time to thank for that._

 _Disclaimer: I only own my own characters._

Chapter 2:

 _Sunday, 3:00 pm._

 _In Anna's Vehicle_

"How did you get to be so fierce?" Chris asks admiringly as I drive through the streets of LA, occasionally listening to the robotic voice of my GPS.

"Back when I was in law school, we used to have mock trials. I realized that if I didn't want to get ripped to shreds, I had to get tough. I'd always been a sensitive child since my accident, and the first time I participated in a mock trial, I was the defense attorney against the meanest guy in the class, or so I thought. He acted so cold, but got angry so quickly that I was reduced to tears. After the trial, he came up to me and introduced himself. His name was John Grimm, he told me, and he said he was sorry for making me cry, but that I needed to get a thicker skin if I ever wanted to be a real lawyer." The GPS pipes up suddenly, telling me to turn left before saying we'd arrived at our destination. I find a place to park, but instead of climbing out, I turn to Chris. "John and I became friends, when he taught me how to be fierce in the courtroom. We still talk once a week, but he works in a prosecutor's office in New York City. Chris, listen. I took this case to help you, but I have to be fierce against our opponents if we are going to win. Do you accept my condition or will I have to hand you off to a lawyer who's willing to be soft?" She thinks about it for a second before shaking her head and looking me dead in the eye.

"Every time I think about allowing Antonio to go free, I imagine him hiring a new, pretty girl to work in his restaurant, then him trying to do the same thing to her that he tried to do to me, and I can't let that happen. He needs to go to jail. It doesn't matter how long, but it needs to happen. If you have to be fierce, do it." With that, she gets out of the car and stares up at the building with a glare and her arms crossed. I chuckle and quickly get out as well.

"Don't glare so angrily, you might set my new office on fire." She exhales shakily and slowly uncrosses her arms.

"Please…" Chris turns to me and I'm surprised to see tears forming in her eyes. "Please, you can't let that evil man win." She sniffles and I wrap my arms around her tightly.

"He won't. I promise on the graves of my ancestors. Now come on." I pull away from the hug and jut at the door to the building behind me with a thumb. "We'd better go inspect the damage." We head inside the building, an apartment building converted into a bunch of offices, and I use the key I got from my realtor last week to open the door to the office I got from the realtor. Chris flips on the light switch, which also turns on a ceiling fan and kicks a bunch of dust into the air. I start coughing and Chris yanks the chain on the fan that turns it off but leaves the light on before coming over to me and slapping me on the back to help clear my lungs of the dust.

"You alright?" She asks as I straighten up and nod, still wheezing slightly, before looking around. Other than everything currently taking a dust bath, the office is in great shape. The main door leads into a room that I can picture as the reception area with three other doors leading out, one into a bathroom and the other two into offices. I tell Chris my plans for the place and she practically has stars in her eyes as the vision of what this office will someday be enters her mind. But she wilts slowly and I look at her worriedly.

"Chris? Is everything okay?"

"I...Can't pay you for your help. I can't afford it, Anna. If you want to let me go, I understand."

"Hmm…" Humming in thought, I brace my chin in one palm and place the other hand on my hip while pacing a slow circle around the main room. "Well, I already made a promise to not abandon this case… I've got it!" I slam my fist into my palm and turn to Chris with a wide grin. "Do you have any experience being a secretary?"

"Yeah, actually!" Chris looks as excited as I feel. "I used to be one for an oil firm before I worked at Antonio's cafe!"

"Then it's settled." The dust doesn't make me need to cough this time when I inhale deeply and thrust out a hand for Chris to shake. "You'll act as my secretary until the bill for my service is paid off. Does that work for you?"

"Of course." Chris responds and we shake once before I drop my hand and turn back to the office's main office. "But this place definitely needs a thorough cleaning. We'll have to dust everything and move in the furniture you want in here… We'll also have to have it inspected."

"I already have the furniture waiting in the main lobby downstairs since we're the first people to rent an office here. And the inspector visited with me when I first checked this place out." I tick the two things off on my fingers as Chris rummages in a closet and luckily finds a broom and dust cloth. She takes the cloth and tosses the broom to me before going to the bathroom and running some wet water over the cloth and running it over everything we'd ever put our hands on. I begin sweeping and we fall into an easy rhythm, working at least three hours before there's a knock at the door.

I lay down my broom and open the door, quickly trying to shut it when I see that it's Antonio.

"Chris, out the fire escape!" She nods, throwing the dust cloth down and wheeling on her heel and to the window. As soon as she's down, I sigh with relief and let the door go, watching warily as Antonio charges into the room like a crazed bull.

"This is all your fault." He growls, balling his fists and grinning, most likely at the prospect of causing me pain. "Because of you, I'm going to lose business at my bakery and won't be able to pay my bail."

"That doesn't matter to me." I reply calmly, taking my hoodie off and gently tossing my glasses into a corner of the room. "I'll give you one more chance to leave peacefully. Or else." Antonio chuckles smugly and rolls his eyes before straightening and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Okay, you made me laugh. For that, I'll give you one free hit. Are you going to take it?" Smiling, I calmly walk up to him and look him in the eye.

"Gladly." Then I drive my fist into his nose, followed by the stomach, then a knee to his family jewels. He gags, doubling over before falling to the floor and trying to curl into a ball. I slam my heel onto the top of his foot, hearing a few of the tarsals break beneath my sneaker. Then I drag him to the closet and close the door behind me before pulling my phone out and calling the police. Officer Hughes arrives after I call Chris back in and we both have a good laugh at the burly man still curled up in a ball in our closet.

"Who beat him up?" Hughes asks as I pick my glasses up from the corner and brush the dust off of them.

"I did, Officer. He forcibly entered the premises and threatened me with bodily harm, so I attacked in self-defense, which I'm sure you'll find, under the circumstances, is both perfectly legal and cause enough to place him under custody in the detention center."

"Y-yes, of course. Don't worry, ma'ams, I brought somebody completely capable of helping me lug this big idiot out." He pulls his walkie-talkie out and presses the call button. "Hey, Gumshoe, get up here. We've got someone to take to the detention center."

"On my way, boss." Then Hughes clicks the radio off and pulls a pair of handcuffs off of his belt before nudging the groaning Antonio onto his stomach and cuffing his hands together.

A tall man in a green trench coat, unshaven, a band-aid on one cheek, and tousled brown hair opens the door, waving at Chris and I before walking over to Hughes and Antonio and easily lifting the latter to his feet, holding him there.

"Good job beating him up, Detective Hughes, sir." He grins until Hughes shakes his head and points at me.

"It wasn't me, Gumshoe. It was Attorney Anna Ramone there." He looks surprised, which I find a little insulting, so I cross my arms over my chest and arch an eyebrow at him.

"Something on your mind, Detective?"

"Nothing, ma'am. That's just very impressive." Slowly, I smile and uncross my arms, walking over to shake Gumshoe's hand.

"Thank you, detective. It's nice to meet you."

"And you, ma'am. Are you the new attorney who's prosecuting for the first time next week?"

"Well, I don't know exactly when the trial is, but that's the gist of it, yes."

"Good luck to you, ma'am. I know a few other lawyers, but you're not much like the ones I know." I chuckle and shake my head.

"Good thing I like being unique, Gumshoe. If you wouldn't mind, my client and I were busy cleaning our new offices, so if you could escort our little friend down to the detention center, and we might see you around?" He grins and cheerfully salutes the two of us before he and Hughes depart, lugging Antonio between the two of them.

"I'm glad that's over with." Chris sighs and I nod once before looking admiringly at all the progress we've made cleaning the office.

"You hungry?" She smiles and nods once, grabbing her jacket from where she laid it down.

"Starving."

"I know this great little ramen place." We head out the door and I pause, looking around the lobby of our office before nodding once, turning off the light, and shutting the door.

 _Sunday of following week, 9:15 pm._

Over the next week, we find out that the trial will take place on a Friday, and that Antonio got a ridiculously green court-assigned lawyer who probably wouldn't be able to stop me if I was sick with a flu. We also get Gumshoe's help putting the furniture in the office and become friends with him. He's a nice man, and has big dreams and an even bigger heart. He also tells us about his boss, the chief prosecutor of LA, who turns out to be a man by the name of Miles Edgeworth.

Chris and I sit in Daikokuya, a Japanese noodle shop, and eat two bowls of ramen while going over her case for the trial, which is tomorrow.

"Okay, I'll call you as a witness first, then Antonio. He'll probably be too busy lying to notice any contradictions in his statement, and Hughes provided me with video evidence, so we'll definitely nail him."

"And if we don't?" Chris has been asking this same question for the past few days now, wringing her hands together every time. That's one nervous habit I'm going to have to help her break.

"Then we'll nail him for some different charges." I reply, ordering a second bowl of noodles since I feel especially hungry.

"And if that doesn't work?"

"Chris." My voice takes on a scolding tone and she wilts slightly. "You need to have more confidence in me, or else you'll make me lose confidence in myself."

"I'm sorry." She replies before stuffing her mouth with noodles so she doesn't have to talk.

"Don't think you can avoid this conversation." I sigh, setting my chopsticks aside and folding my hands under my chin. "We will win the trial tomorrow, nothing you say or do will change my conviction on that matter. But if you don't perk up, I'm almost positive it will carry over into your testimony tomorrow. So let's cheer up, believe, and get this over with, yeah?" She stares into her noodle bowl, still chewing the mouthful she has, before swallowing it slowly and meeting my eyes.

"Yeah, okay. I just want this to go according to plan."

"And it will, or it will get as close as possible to the best of our abilities." I slurp the rest of my bowl down in one go and grin at Chris, eliciting a chuckle from her. "So let's do this."


	3. Chapter 3

_Hellooo! Back for another chapter? Here you go, then!_

 _Disclaimer: I only own my characters._

Chapter 3:

 _Friday, 9 am._

 _Office of Attorney/Prosecutor Anna Ramone_

"Are you ready to go?" I call into the bathroom of the office, where Chris decided to change, as I double-check my court outfit in the mirror a final time. A tight steel blue pencil skirt hangs down to my knees, where tan pantyhose lead to a pair of gray pumps. Over my white button-up shirt, I have a blue and gray striped blazer fastened at my stomach with a gold pin hidden under the flap. My blonde hair is pulled back into a simple ponytail but a silver clip lies pinned over the hair band holding the hair in place.

"How do I look?" The door opens and I turn to Chris, nodding satisfiedly at her choice of simple peach sundress and short, straight black hair tied back with a peach bandanna. "Do I look ready to kick butt and take names?"

"Well, I don't know about that, but you're definitely ready to send a certain person to jail, where I'm sure they'll experience plenty of butt-kicking anyway. So in the end, it's basically the same thing." She nods, seemingly satisfied with my answer, and flicks off all the lights before ushering me out the door of our office.

The engine of my car revs as we drive down Main Street. I keep my eyes on the road, but out of my peripheral vision, I see Chris chewing her nails as she stares out the window.

"Nervous?" She glances at her chewed nails and folds them in her laps, embarrassed, before looking at me.

"Mostly just ready for this to finally be over. How about you? This is your first case and everything."

"I'm excited." I reply with a calm grin, pulling to a stop in front of the courthouse and staring up at it. "This is like college all over again. Maybe I'll even be up against one of my old friends, though the odds aren't in my favor." Parking, I step out and straighten my skirt before reaching into the back, pulling out a small gray leather briefcase, and ushering both myself and Chris through the doors and to Defendant Lobby No. 1.

The Defendant Lobby makes me think of a doctor's office, with a wall lined with benches, a potted plant standing morosely in one corner, and people milling about in varying degrees of nervousness. In a chair along the wall, I see Antonio, handcuffed and glaring into empty space. Before he can spot either of us, I usher Chris into the empty courtroom and behind the prosecutor's bench.

"What was that about?" Chris asks, having not spotted Antonio either.

"Mr. Vila was out there. I didn't want to have a confrontation before the trial even started. Though I do wish I'd had a chance to meet his lawyer."

"It looks like you're going to get your chance." Chris points behind me and I turn to see Antonio being pushed into the room by a woman dressed in a black suit, carrying a matching suitcase. She pushes him into the defendant's chair before turning and walking to my bench, thrusting a hand out with a sunny grin. I shake her hand and she grins before brushing her short black hair back from her face.

"Great to meet you. My name's Eva. Eva Hall."

"Good to meet you too, I guess?" I reply confusedly. "Aren't we on different teams?"

"Not really." Eva shrugs and points at Antonio with her thumb. "I know he's guilty. I got access to the traffic camera video from the day of evidence and pretty much watched the entire thing play out. I don't know why I'm even here, other than being forced to defend a client that I honestly wish would've just taken the guilty plea. Since I'm new in this town, the state assigned me to his case." She sighs and glares at Antonio, who's too busy glaring at me to notice. "Sorry about him."

"Don't apologize. I'm sorry you got stuck with his case."

"So am I." She laughs and shakes my hand again before heading back behind her desk as the jury and spectators file in.

"All rise for Judge Jones." The plaintiff calls out and everyone stands to watch the old man shuffle in and sit on his bench. "We are here today to hear the case of Vila vs Jewell. Antonio Vila is charged with attempted sexual assault, physical assault, and threatening physical assault. Does the prosecution intend to make an opening statement?"

"Yes, sir." I stand and move into the middle of the courtroom, facing the jury and running a hand through my hair. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I am here today on behalf of a woman who has had terrible things happen to her at the hands of the defendant. I will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that my client has suffered attempts of both the physical and sexual varieties and that she has lost her job because she didn't give Mr Vila what he wanted: Her innocence." I pause for dramatic effect before nodding at them. "Thank you."

"Very eloquent." The judge says, eyebrows raised, before turning his head to look at Eva. "Would the defense also like to make a statement?"

"No, your Honor." Eva seems calm enough, but Antonio looks like he's sweating bullets.

"Very well. The prosecution may call their first witness."

"I call Officer Hughes of the LAPD to the stand." Hughes gets to his feet from his spot next to Gumshoe in the stands and walks down to stand behind the witness stand. "Name and occupation, please."

"John Hughes, officer for the Los Angeles police department."

"Officer Hughes, what can you tell us about this incident?"

"It was a Sunday and I was doing some paperwork when the receptionist told me that a couple of people wanted to see me. I went into the designated conference room and met with the prosecutor and her client, who were filing charges against the defendant. They asked me for the security footage from-"

"Hold it!" Eva's voice rings out an I raise an eyebrow towards her as she presses her hands to the top of her table. "Don't clients hire a lawyer after the report has been filed? That story makes no sense!" If my eyebrows weren't attached to my face, they would've floated away from being risen so high. I point a finger at her.

"Objection! The reason I helped my client file the report was because I witnessed the defendant physically assaulting my client and felt I should stand up for her!"

"Objection sustained." The judge murmurs, tapping his gavel once to quiet the muttering spectators. "Please refrain from interrupting the witness' testimony, Miss Hall."

"Yes, Your Honor. Apologies." I motion for Hughes to continue and he clears his throat nervously before doing so.

"They asked to see the security footage from the traffic camera across the street from the cafe. I obliged, but not before checking over the video myself. I saw the defendant shoving the client out the front door and the prosecutor coming over. I even saw him get up in the prosecutor's face and everything."

"Is that all?" He nods and I look to Eva. "I'd ask if you'd like to cross-examine him, but I doubt you'll find any contradictions in his story."

"You're right." Eva sighs, wilting a little. "The defense will not cross-examine the witness."

"Very well. Ms. Ramone, any other witnesses you'd like to call?"

"Just one more, Your Honor. I'd like to call Detective Gumshoe of the LAPD to the stand." Hughes passes Gumshoe as they switch spots and pats him on the shoulder reassuringly. Gumshoe stands a little straighter at the witness platform. "Name and occupation, please."

"Richard Gumshoe, Detective for the Los Angeles Police Department."

"Can you tell us what occurred the first time you met the client, Detective?"

"Sure! Uh, Hughes and I were out on patrol when the radio alerted us to a breaking and entering and attempted physical assault. Of course we happened to be the closest to the address so we went and found Miss Prosecutor talking with the client and the defendant locked in a closet and whining like a little puppy dog. We took him into custody."

"Would you like to cross-examine the witness, Attorney Hall?"

"I just have one question for him, Your Honor." Eva turns to Gumshoe, frowning confusedly. "Detective, who beat up Antonio?"

"Well, that's the funny bit. The prosecutor herself did." The judge has to bang his gavel again as murmuring erupts in the courtroom. When it finally dies down, he looks at me with one eyebrow raised.

"Care to explain, Miss Ramone?"

"Your Honor, the man threatened the life of me and my client and then committed B&E to cause us physical harm. However, he underestimated me and gave me a 'free shot.'" Here I make air quotations, shrugging nonchalantly. "I lived in a tough neighborhood in college. I learned to defend myself, and that's exactly what I did here." I cross my arms and glance around, waiting for someone to say something. No one does, however, and we resume the trial.

"Will you call any more witnesses, Miss Ramone?"

"I think I'm done, Your Honor." Chris shoots me a bright grin and I respond with a smaller, but no less genuine grin.

"Would the defense like to present any evidence?"

"If it pleases Your Honor, the defense would like to proceed to closing statements so that the jury has more time to debate their answer."

"The prosecution agrees, Your Honor."

"Very well. The prosecution will make their closing statement first." I clear my throat and, once again, step into the middle of the courtroom.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have tried to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that my client has been physically, verbally, and almost sexually harassed. Please, for the sake of my client, an innocent woman to whom terrible things has happened, make the right choice." Slowly, I exhale and go to stand behind the bar once again, knocking shoulders with Chris, who smiles slightly even while trying to keep her expression somber. Eva stands and takes my place, running a hand through her short black hair before clasping them both in front of her.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this was my first case, so I had no choice on whom I would defend. This man was assigned to me by the state of California. Though I have tried my best to defend him, I trust you all to make the correct decision, though I am prohibited from outright stating it." Eva returns to behind her own bar, ignoring Antonio trying to burn a hole through her skull with his glare. The judge has to bang his gavel to silence the jurors and spectators, who had begun to murmur among themselves. The jurors rise to their seats and vanish through a door guarded by two bailiffs as the judge calls for a two-hour recess. Chris and I rise and move into the lobby, grabbing a couple of styrofoam cups from a cooler before sitting on one of the padded benches.

"You were awesome." Chris looks like she has stars in her eyes as I nonchalantly sip my water, even though on the inside I'm bouncing like a five-year-old on a sugar high. "I didn't know being a lawyer was so… Dramatic!"

"It's usually not." I respond, staring into the depths of my cup and swishing it back and forth. "Just be thankful I'm a criminal lawyer and not a civil one. We would've just spent several hours arguing over whether or not you owed a plot of farmland that had been in your family for generations, according to you."

"You sound like you speak from experience."

"I do. In law school, we had mock trials in both civil and criminal cases. I had a bad habit of falling asleep when I was a juror in one of the civil cases and almost didn't pass that section of my bar test." A bailiff comes out and everyone stands before walking back into the court.

* * *

 _Alright, I just realized I haven't done a closing note for my last two chapters! Haha, whoops. Anyway, I'll answer reviews here._

 _To Camperor: As you can see, I've taken your comment into consideration. Seriously, I'd just finished my Geometry final when I came up with that dumb title... Just celebrate the wintery lack of school! Yay!_

 _And anyone who's read my work before knows the three R's, so say 'em with me: Read, review, and... Repeat!_

 _Signing off, as always,_

 _EOM_


	4. Chapter 4

**I usually work on this story during my free time, so I've got quite a few chapters typed up! Enjoy!**

Chapter 4:

 _Friday, 12 pm._

 _Courtroom_

"Has the jury decided on a verdict?" The judge questions them as everyone files back into the courtroom and takes their seats. The head juror remains standing, holding a slip of paper that determines the futures of both Chris and Antonio.

"We have, your Honor. We find the defendant…" The head juror pauses for dramatic effect, glancing around the room with a devilish glint in his eyes. "...Guilty!" The observers erupt into cheers and Chris laughs, pulling me in for a tight hug.

"Thank you. It's finally over." When she pulls away, there are tears streaming from her face and her laughs of joy are still there, they're just accompanied by the wet tears now.

Slowly, we file out of the courtroom after Eva comes over and congratulates me, handing me a car with her number on it in case I ever needed her help with anything. I tell Chris to go ahead and get the car started, but as soon as she's out of sight, someone lays a heavy hand on my shoulder. Sighing, I turn and expect to be facing Gumshoe, but instead am confronted by a figure in a dark trenchcoat and black fedora pulled low over the person's face.

"Excellent job on your first case." The person praises, though their voice definitely sounds masculine. "I have something to give you."

"Why would you have something to give me?" I question, slowly trying to skirt around the figure, but they're having none of it, stepping aside abruptly to block my way. "I don't even know you."

"I'm sure you know of me." The figure responds, tossing a small, black velveteen box into my hands before whirling around and vanishing as quickly as they'd appeared.

Ignoring the box for now, I slip it into my pocket and head outside to climb into the car with Chris, relaying my odd encounter with the person in the trench coat. She seems just as confused as I feel, but we both shrug it off and head out to grab some celebratory Chinese with Gumshoe and Hughes.

 _Daikokuya, 5 pm._

"Congratulations on your first victory. May there be many more." Hughes toasts my case with some cheap wine ordered from the depressingly short wine list.

"Kanpai!" I laugh as we use the Japanese version of 'cheers' and clink our glasses together. Chris is still smiling ridiculously wide, and I can't help but to think that her cheeks are going to be sore tomorrow.

"What are you gonna do now?" Gumshoe asks me as Chris and Hughes dig into their food. I pause a moment and think, fork frozen halfway to my mouth. Then, with a sigh, I set my fork down and fold my hands together under my chin.

"I really don't know at this point, Gumshoe. As far as I'd figured, the only plan I had was to go back to the office with Chris and get our business going for real."

"That's a good plan." Hughes interjects, slurping down a noodle from his pad thai. "Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to have your entire life planned out. I mean, it helps, but…"

"But I want to be something." My chopsticks fall to the table and I pull the black velvet box out of my pocket, rolling it between my fingers slowly. "I want to make something of myself! Is that so wrong?" Sighing, I open the box and watch the light glint off an innocuous ring inside. "What is this?" The three others lean over to see what I'm looking at. Chris' eyebrows raise and she lets out a low whistle of appreciation.

"It's a ring, Anna." Gumshoe eyes the gold appreciatively, but there's no greed. He's just appreciating the beauty of the ring. "You put it on your finger."

"I know that, Gumshoe. What I'm wondering is why that man gave it to me."

"He probably saw your performance at the courthouse." Hughes soothes me, also eying the ring. "There's no harm in a simple ring. You can put it on if you want to." With a roll of my eyes, I pry the ring out of the velvet cushioning and meet Chris's eyes, which are filled with joy and maybe just a little relief. She shrugs and drinks deeply from her glass. I shrug and slip it onto my finger before lifting my glass again.

 _Clarity..._

I don't even notice when it falls from my fingers and thuds against the ground dully, each millisecond of its fall crystal clear in my head. Everything is clear, and it burns.

I suppose my memory is screwy for a reason, and this is definitely not it. My knees shake beneath me, even though I'm in a chair, and I keel sideways out of it, my friends' cries ringing in my ears, along with the beating of my own heart and the rasps as I frantically inhale and exhale rapidly.

"Anna!" The voices echo in my head before I feel someone pry the ring from my finger, gasping for breath as the burning clarity slowly fades from my mind. "Anna, can you hear me? Someone call an ambulance!" Chris' face swims into view as I realize that I never noticed that I had screwed my eyes shut. "Anna, come on, answer me!"

"Ugh…" I answer with a feeble groan and a pathetic attempt at lifting my hand from the ground before it falls down again. The ring glares in all the too-harsh lighting and I watch as someone whose face I don't look at pics the ring up, slips it back into its box and tucks it securely into my breast pocket. Then the wail of sirens hurts my ears as my vision goes black again.

When I wake up again, I'm no longer in Daikokuya, instead the beep of machines and smell of ammonia clue me in on the fact that I'm in a hospital. The stiff sheets crinkle as I slowly sit up and examine the IV injected in my arm. With a hiss, I grip the catheter and pull it out, tossing the bloody plastic tube aside. A TV plays in a corner, showing Daikokuya onscreen and I feel a chill run down my back, hunting the remote down and switching the TV off before my eyes can wander to the headline running underneath it. The door into my room rattles and the fact I'm dressed in a sports bra, with tight sweatpants and my hair pulled bac into a simple ponytail flashes through my mind before a doctor comes in, staring at a clipboard grasped in his hand intently and occasionally murmuring to himself. We stand like that for a minute, before his muttering stops and his eyes finally rise to meet mine.

"What's up, doc?" I fold my hands across my bare midriff and shoot him a sarcastic smile. "Mind telling me how long I've been playing the role of Rip Van Winkle?"

"A day, but you shouldn't be awake. You were suffering severe seizures. Your body still needs to recover." The doctor walks up to me, seizing my wrist in one hand and taking my pulse. "But nonetheless, here you are. Shall I alert your friends that you're awake?"

"And can I also get some proper clothes?" He nods before departing. Shortly afterwards, a nurse returns with my suit, which has been freshly laundered. The doctor returns, leading Chris behind him. When she sees me, she promptly bursts into tears and dashes past the doctor, spinning him into the wall and wrapping me in a hug.

"I'm glad you're awake!" She cries, squeezing me until I can't feel my ribs. I laugh and hug her back as soon as she releases me slightly.

"I'm glad I'm awake too. Did you really miss me that much after one day?"

"There's a strange man in our office, and he never talks to me, just keeps asking if he can speak with you, or someone with 'sufficient intellect'." She makes air quotations before sniffling again and bursting into a fresh round of tears. "I'm not stupid, I know he was saying I was!"

"Oh, really?" This will have to be resolved with some of my blunt lack of finesse, which is something I relish. "You're not stupid, Chris. Don't think on what that mansaid for one second. Let's go to the offica and I'll… Handle the situation." And if a wild grin split my face at the idea of punishing someone who'd hurt one of my closest friends emotionally, well, neither of us mentioned it.

Chris got me checked out of the hospital and returned the keys to my Mercedes, which she'd been forced to use during my little nap to get around and which I didn't mind at all. We drive home after stopping to grab some Cokes and park the car in the resident parking and head inside as I note that the light in our office is on.

Inside the office, a short man in red trousers and a red waistcoat with slicked back brown hair, except for the bangs, which are pointing straight up, is rummaging through our mini fridge, back to Chris and I.

"Excuse me!" My voice echoes in the somewhat-empty office and he jolts, slamming his head against the top of the fridge and he whirls around to face us, face burning bright with embarrassment. "Did either of us give you permission to go pawing through our oodstocks?"

"Neither of you were here." He retorts, closing the fridge and crossing his arms over his chest.

"So why were you?" This boy's uppity attitude is grating on my nerves. "Who are you, that you rummage through my office and insult my employees and friends alike? I reccommend you speak quickly, I just returned from the hospital." His eyes widen minutely in shock before the boy readjusts his waistcoat and thrusts his hand out.

"Apollo Justice. I'm here to offer you a position at the Wright Anything Agency."

"No. Now get out." Shock is evident in Apollo's face and he slowly retracts his hand when it becomes glaringly obvious that I am flat-out refusing to shake it.

"W-why not? You did very well in court, and we're always looking for bright people, so what's there to lose?"

"I refuse to work with cretins." I respond coldly, jaw working slowly like I'm chewing a tough piece of steak and am debating spitting it out. "And you, sir, have not proved yourself as anything more."

"How have I insulted you?" He responds as if he has truly got no idea, and I bare my teeth at him in what might be mistaken for a friendly smile if you didn't look too close.

"You insinuated my friend was moronic, you rummaged through my office when I was laid up in the hospital, and you fail to realize that I've already got my own law firm and do not want to join one that includes you." Apollo's jaw drops and I turn my back to him, facing Chris, who can't stop her face from breaking into a tentative smile when I meet her eyes. "Miss Jewell, kindly escort Mr Justice out of my firm with as much haste as possible. I'd like to get some actual work done."

"Right away, Ms. Ramone! Please come with me, Mr. Justice." Stunned, the boy follows her out, though I feel his gaze flicking to me occasionally as I walk into my office and sit behind my desk, which is nothing more than a folding card table and matching chair.

Chris walks in and sets down another chair on the opposite side of the table before sitting down as well.

"You never fail to impress me with your bravado when it comes to people." She says quietly, sniffling.

"Why are you crying, Chris? Did that Justice boy say something on the way out?"

"No, no, nothing like that!" She wipes at her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt and blows her nose with a hankie before tucking it away. "It's just… You were bad. When the ambulance got here, you were seizing and shaking and it was just… Frightening. And it was all because of that ring. Please, promise me something like that won't happen again, Anna."

"I can't promise anything, Chris. I'm not a mind reader, and you know that. What I will promise is that I will try. Nothing more, nothing less." She nods slowly and dries her eyes before grinning at me.

"I suppose that's all I can ask of my friend."

* * *

 **I've been trying to work on some of my other stories, but for now you guys get this. *Throws it at you, wrapped in pillows.* And as always do the three R's: Read, Review, and Repeat!**

 **Signing off, as always,**

 **EOM**


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